Karadorian Humans
Perhaps the most peculiar branch of humanity, and undoubtedly the smallest, Karadorians are a combination of the Isan’i and Vorrak. Though, they share more with the Vorrak than the Isan’i, as the Vorrak on Karador outnumbered the Isan’i. These Humans lived on the worlds of Karador (hence the name) and Krytor (for a short time). Karador was simply a “reserved” world, by the Aldari, a more sophisticated race similar to the Humans, intended not to be colonized. Krytor was the abandoned homeworld of the Aldari. Eventually, the Karadorian Humans returned to their homeworlds - however, shortly after they arrived, The Catastrophe occurred, and they perished among their kindred. History Originally, the Karadorian Humans were simply Isan’i or Vorrak on their homeworlds. However, a piece of Aldari technology, known as the Crimson Rift, began taking Humans to Karador. It was later discovered that one of the last Aldari, Myra Manadai, had orchestrated it, in order to combat the god Nash’vadak, who had corrupted her father, Ukval Manadai. But, before that was learned or acted upon, the people of Karador came to terms with their situation, and began constructing their own civilization. Soon, there were two nations in the world: Lubeck and Dawn. They ended up at war, and Lubeck reigned supreme, scattering the people of Dawn. Later yet, a new city was established, named Twilight, by the remnants of Dawn. Around this time, the people of Karador began to prioritize the threat of Nash’vadak and Ukval, and the people of Twilight went to war with them. Several assaults were launched against Twilight, all of which were repelled. Twilight retaliated by attacking the Violet Citadel, where Ukval dwelled. The assault was victorious, and the citadel fell. Ukval, however, escaped, as did Nash’vadak. In one last battle, the people of Karador attacked Ukval as he attempted to flee the world of Karador. Ukval was slain, but, consequently, Myra also perished, and Karador was destroyed. The Karadorians narrowly escaped, and were inadvertently taken to Krytor. On Krytor, two powers arose. The city of Dale, and a large group of magicians, who made up The Academy. These two groups were on relatively neutral terms. Though, a plague did set in, caused by an megalomaniacal serial killer, and forced the people of The Academy and Dale to seek refuge in a village further north, holding the survivors of the plague. Extinction was close for a time. A cure was later found, however, and the previously abandoned cities were returned to. Eventually, they discovered the Ebony Citadel, and awoke the Last Aldari, Kalo Grar. There were no major battles on Krytor, though there was some conflict between the Humans and the Krongor, a race of undead Aldari, led by Kalo. Eventually, however, the Aldari was slain, and his citadel destroyed. Shortly after, the battle with Nash’vadak occurred, and he was slain. As a result, all of the Aldari were resurrected, no longer Krongor. The Humans were also able to return to their homeworlds, and Krytor was abandoned by humanity. But, shortly after their departure, the Last Aldari returned his kindred to their undead state, and repaired his citadel. With a colossal army of the undead, the Last Aldari launched a massive war against all life and civilization. His army never shrunk, for his soldiers could never die, and so he won with ease. The Catastrophe rendered all life in Humanity’s universe extinct. Geography The world of Karador was mostly occupied by a temperate coniferous forest. However, there was a desert in the distant north, a marsh to the far west, and a jungle far east, on the coast. Though, only the forest was inhabited by Humans. There were major towns on Karador: * Marshstone - The capital of Lubeck, a stone castle, well defended, with a city nestled within its walls. Entirely Vorrak. * Haven - A village, originally the capital of Dawn, occupied by an even mixture of Isan’i and Vorrak. * Twilight - A city established when Dawn was defeated, with an equal amount of Vorrak and Isan’i. * Malvaria - A small city established by the Isan’i. It later became a casualty of the war against Nash’vadak. It was entirely comprised of Isan’i. * Beruna - A small town under the flag of Lubeck, it had an even amount of Isan’i and Vorrak villagers. Krytor was a world almost entirely made up of water, with archipelagos dotting the planet. The Karadorian archipelago possessed a central, temperate island, a much more tropical island to the west, a volcanic isle to the south-east, another temperate isle to the south-west, and a desert island in the north-west. Only the central island and the tropical island were colonized. There were not as many settlements on Krytor as on Karador. They are: * Dale - A large city built upon the eastern island, comprised mostly of Vorrak. * Falcons Rest - A small village which served as a refugee camp when the Karadorians first arrived in Krytor. It was abandoned shortly after its founding. * The Academy - A school of the magical arts, its residents were forced to evacuate before it ever fulfilled its purpose, due to a plague which decimated most of the Humans on Krytor. * The Village - A refugee village established for those who survived the plague. It was abandoned once a cure was found. Religion As the Vorrak vastly outnumbered the Isan’i, the Vorrak were able to easily convert many Isan’i to Vorbekor. The strict religious beliefs of Lubeck also took a key role in achieving this goal. However, not all Isan’i were converted. Those that were not, though, kept by their belief in Shyieg’a resiliently. The same cannot be said for the followers of Vorbekor. Due to many of the things witnessed by the Vorrak on Karador and Krytor, many alterations were made to their religion. These are: * The belief in worlds beyond Vorech, that Vorbek created. * The belief that Vorbek created some minor gods, such as Nash’vadak or Dara, to serve as instruments for whatever grand scheme Vorbek had in mind. * The belief that the afterlife is, rather, not in the sky, but on another unreachable planet. Culture The culture of the Karadorians varies greatly. Marshstone was a strict religious nation, but also a monarchy. Dawn was also a monarchy, but less strict religiously. However, it did not have nearly as skilled a military. The people of Dale and The Academy lived rather comfortable lives, not dissimilar to how their brethren lived in their homeworlds.